Behind the blonde bangs, you get the feeling there might have been more than the odd moment of self-doubt for Duffy. You can almost see the troubled spirit of Dusty on one shoulder, the head of Universal Records on the other. Rockferry, her debut album, is being sold to us as an issue, an important statement made by an important new voice. And there's no hype, they say: Duffy is a natural-born star.

Pop politics aside for now, lead single Mercy is a slight but darned catchy number, a classic radio hit, Rehab redux with the “no, no, no” hook replaced by “yeah, yeah, yeah”.

The title track is better, a decidedly British take on the New York “big city soul” sound pioneered by Burt Bacharach and Teddy Randazzo. Distant Dreamer is the most affecting vocal performance, taking Roy Orbison's bolero-ballad tension and adding a Spector-ised wall of saxes. It uses the same chord progression that R Kelly has built an empire around. Heard it all before? Many music lovers probably haven't - the most discernible reference on these songs is at least 30 years old.

But nothing is more likely to cause a gag reflex than overloud claims of authenticity; that the “hype” is that there is no hype - it makes it impossible to take Rockferry on its own merits. So loud has been the marketing clamour that we are obliged to treat it as a major release, a third album following two platinum sellers.

So instead of being drawn to its high points, we note how many of its references are facile, how Duffy and her team of helpers should be digging a little deeper than My Girl (Warwick Avenue) and I Heard it Through the Grapevine (Hanging on Too Long) for samples. We hear how Rockferry treads a fine line, often crossing from soulful atmospherics (Stepping Stone) into Starbucks cosiness (Serious, Delayed Devotion), and on these occasions we realise it sounds no better or worse than a Gabrielle album.

No one insisted “instant classic!” when the sensuous Back to Black insinuated itself into the national, then international, consciousness. It was effortless. You can hear the perspiration behind Rockferry. And, ultimately, that's a turn-off.

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